CLADOCERA AND COPEPODA CRUSTACEANS OF THE MARMAROSH MASSIF (UKRAINIAN CARPATHIANS)

Abstract

There are noted 11 species of plankton crustaceans (7 – Cladocera and 4 – Copepoda (Calanoida and Cyclopoida)) from the reservoirs of the Ukrainian part of the Marmarosh Mountains.
The high mountain glacial lake Kryvave, the forest lake of the overflow type (landslide) Shchevora, small swamp and some of the puddles are investigated. Lake Kryvave is located at an altitude of 1620 m above sea level in the glacial crust of Mt. Pip Ivan Marmarosky within the subalpine vegetation. Its size is 38.8 by 19.4 m, the maximum depth is 0.5 m. Lake Shchevora is located at an altitude of 1209 m above sea level in a hollow in a spruce forest with an admixture of beech. The size of the lake is 61.5 by 21.8 m. The recorded maximal depth is 1.6 m, but the lake might be much deeper.
The most common species in this area are Chydorus sphaericus (O. F. Müller, 1776) and Acanthocyclops vernalis (Fischer, 1853). The others species has a more local distribution in the Marmarosh Mountains. Daphnia obtusa Kurz, 1874, Chydorus sphaericus, Acanthocyclops vernalis and Mixodiaptomus tatricus (Wierzejski, 1883) inhabited in the subalpine reservoirs upper 1515 m above sea level. These communities are typical for high mountain shallow reservoirs of Chornohora, Svydivets massifs too. This indicates that the hydrofauna of the Marmarosh Mountains belongs to the high mountain fauna of Carpathians.
Mixodiaptomus tatricus, which inhabits the reservoirs of subalpine and alpine zones of southeastern Europe is specific stenotopic species to the communities of the Ukrainian Carpathians and is present by an isolated population in the reservoirs on the slopes of Mt. Pip Ivan Marmarosky.
The total density of planktonic crustaceans in the lakes is very low (0.5–1.3 thous. ind./m3), because of cold water, a small amount of organic matter, absence or lack of aquatic macrophytes. The most numerous planktonic crustaceans are in subalpine puddles – up to 138.5 thous. ind./m3. The total density of planktonic crustaceans in road puddles does not exceed 6 thous. ind./m3. The maximum density was reached Daphnia obtusa – to 54,5 and Chydorus sphaericus – to 51,3 thous. ind./m3 from other species.
Lake Kryvave and the puddle on the slopes of Mt. Stig are oligosaprobic, while the other reservoirs are β-mesosaprobic.